| GMail ads are starting to show up on users' devices Oct 4th 2013, 18:49, by Nate Swanner When Google changed the GMail interface for Android, we mentioned it could be to allow for advertisements to make an appearance. Quickly dismissed as they are, mobile GMail advertisements make a lot of sense for a company who relies heavily on them for their massive revenue stream. 
It appears that the ads have now begun making an appearance, with Dutch site Android World noting they're present in the Android GMail app. They are running the current version, and the ad is prominently displayed at the top of the stream. We've not yet heard of ads in GMail for Android being stateside yet, so it could be a country-by-country rollout. There is also no known method for turning the ads off. The settings for the desktop version can be altered to remove the banner ads above the inbox, and you can choose not to see the "Promotions" tab, but there is no visceral way to remove all ads. A few Chrome extensions promise to clean them away, but that doesn't help us on mobile. We can only hope that Google will be responsible about mobile ads in GMail, and not inundate us with anything. The Dutch translation for Reclame is "advertisement", so it seems this is all currently relegated to the Promotions tab. Let's hope it stays that way. |  | HTC One Max gains GCF certification Oct 4th 2013, 18:39, by Robert Nelson Still without an official announcement from HTC, it looks like the One Max has surfaced in another certification filing. This latest is with the Global Certification Forum (GFC) which is dubbed as being an “independent certification scheme for mobile phones and wireless devices that are based on 3PP standards.” The GFC has a ‘test-once, use-anywhere’ approach and this time around, has revealed bit of detail on the HTC One Max. 
Touching a bit further on the GFC, according to their website, they use an “industry agreed set of Certification Criteria” that includes conformance, field trial and IOT requirements. But key for the other side, the GCF make the attempt to “ensure that a mobile device will work effectively on mobile networks anywhere in the world.” To that point, they have offered some details in terms of network connectivity. According to the filing, the One Max will have network support for quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE, tri-band UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA on the 900, 1900 and 2100MHz frequencies and tri-band LTE on the 800, 1800 and 2600MHz frequencies. As for that LTE, that translates to bands 3, 7 and 20. Additionally, the filing also mentioned a bit about SIM locking. In this case, it looks like the HTC One Max will support SIM lock. Of course, that doesn’t necessarily mean HTC will have the SIM locked in each and every market the handset is released. The unfortunate part, aside from these details, there wasn’t any further mention of specs or hardware. All that being said, we are still looking towards a mid-October announcement. And while we have yet to hear from HTC, given the recent approvals coming from the US FCC, Chinese Tenaa and Taiwan NCC — it certainly seems like we are getting closer to an announcement and launch. VIA: the unwired | | Nokia Android watch, or just some abandoned prototype Oct 4th 2013, 18:13, by Nate Swanner Interesting news out of China today, as a strange Nokia device has been photographed for our speculating pleasure. CtechCN is reporting that "microblogging users" @monkeybigtreasure (priceless) shared pics of the Nokia device, claiming it is a smartwatch. It’s interesting, but we have our doubts. 
With the world currently flush with smartwatches, it's no surprise that Nokia would have been working on something like this. While the pics are only of the sides, the device does seem to be a type of Nokia wearable. The device is curved, as though it would fit around your wrist. It also has machined holes for what could be a strap (they're crudely drilled, but let's remember this is a prototype).
So, let's speculate a touch. First, it does look very much like a smartwatch — curved, apparently on the small side, and branded prominently with the Nokia name. It makes sense that Nokia would work on something like this, as we now know they experimented with Android phones before selling to Microsoft a few weeks back. Therein lies the problem, though: was this a WP device, and Android device, or something else entirely? Nokia sunk their entire lineup into WP, but was experimenting with Android. We hear persistent rumors of an Android/Google smartwatch, and some even point to it being released alongside the Nexus 5 this fall. 
Microsoft now owns Nokia's hardware division, and this device would fall under that category. We can hope, as many of us did when Nokia was its own entity, to see a branded Android device from them, but that's not going to happen at this juncture. Not only is Nokia unable to build their own hardware, we find it hard to believe that Microsoft would allow something they own to be for a competing platform. The space is flooded with independent smartwatches, and the Galaxy Gear is the first from a major OEM. What they all have in common is their failure to impress the masses. Pebble has sold well, but is little more than a notification center. The same can be said for the flashy Gear, and it's saddled with being proprietary to Samsung. This could be a precursor to an Android device, or it could just be a shelved concept from a now defunct manufacturer. VIA: Electronista | | Verizon DROID DNA update adds TalkBack, not Sense 5 Oct 4th 2013, 17:35, by Robert Nelson An update has begun arriving for Verizon DROID DNA users this morning. But before anyone gets super excited, this is not the Sense 5 update that was revealed back in September. At this time it looks like that update is still in the works and for now, DROID DNA users will have to settle for this minor update. 
The update that is heading to devices now will bring you to software version 2.07.605.1 710RD with baseband 1.01.04.0308. As we often see, Verizon has this one listed as an update that is “designed to improve the performance.” To that point, this update has just one item listed in the changelog; TalkBack. 
Support for the TalkBack feature has been added; This enhancement makes Internet accessibility easier for the visually impaired.
Anyway, while this will likely be disappointing for those who were waiting for Android 4.2.2 and Sense 5, this could still be a worthwhile update for some users. That being the case, the update, which measures in at 33MB in size can be found by navigating to Menu -> Settings -> Software Update -> Check Now. Alternatively, you could also take the casual approach, which involves little more than sitting back and waiting for the update notification to arrive on your handset. Of course, from that point you will only need to follow the prompts. With that, DROID DNA users can grab this update and then go back to waiting for Sense 5, which we hope will be arriving sooner rather than later. SOURCE: Verizon Wireless (1), (2) | | Google Now supports alternate languages, thanks to XDA workaround Oct 4th 2013, 17:22, by Nate Swanner With all the work done by Google on language translation and recognition, it's still a bit strange that some of their apps are english-only. Case in point: Google Now. Relegated to the english language, Google Now has a lot to offer those in the non-english speaking world. Over at XDA Developers, user Sletmo has created a Google Now workaround which will display information in just about any language. 
First, a disclaimer: this requires root, so be sure you’re comfortable with modifying your device, should you want to try this one out. Of course, we always recommend creating a backup before modifying anything, so feel free to check it out on XDA if you like. This is also a modified version of Google Now, and XDA notes that installing updates will break functionality. The app works with any language Android supports, and that's a very impressive, comprehensive list. One screenshot, which you see above, lists restaurants in Swedish. Pretty sublime for the traveller, or someone who is in need of language immersion. The app site even has very implicit download directions for you, and variable ways to get it working on your device. We can only hope that this leads to Google supporting languages natively in Google Now, but this is an excellent workaround. If you end up checking it out, please let us know how it worked for you. Conversations on the XDA thread note it being successful, so we're confident it's a winner. VIA: Engadget | |
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